The word 'faithful' (H539) in this scripture can be translated as supportive, as well as to foster or nurse as a parent. The image is of the wounds that do damage from a friend are supportive and will nurse us with proper health.

What kind of wounds do you suppose are faithful? I think it is the wounds that are brought on by friendship; the accidental wounds that pierce our hearts and throw salt in our eyes; the pain of swollen toes as our dancing partner keeps stepping on them; the soreness that comes from an aching back because we have carried a friend for far too long of a distance; the slash mark we see on our hands as we have reached out to a hurt friend and been attacked; and the bruise that we keep covered that is caused by the repeated negative and ugly words of a friend.

Wounds are unavoidable in this life. We are going to get wounded and we are going to wound others.

This all means that we must begin to look at wounds and pain and even death from a different perspective. And this perspective can be God's perspective.

God knows about pain; the pain of rejection, the pain of seeing children He loves in pain; the pain of releasing His Son; and the pain of being attacked as a poor Father and a lousy landlord.

You know about pain, also. Just think about the wounds you have received and the ones you have given.

The false accusation against you from a close friend; how in the world is that 'supportive' of you? Remember the last time your friend hurt you with their words when they were describing you? How painful was that? Do you remember the last time you were 'stabbed' in the back and how your whole being winced from the pain?

I think the picture Proverbs paints here is not one of friends purposely damaging us but rather even in their accidental wounding God is able to use what is done out of love (or even confusion and pain when the person loves us).

See the picture? The pain and frustration of a child pulling milk out a mother's breast fosters strength in the child and produces more milk in the mother. Without the pain there would be no growth in either nor would either be able to do what they were created to do-the baby to grow and the breast to nurture.

The pain of a friend is supportive.

The pain of a friend is nurturing.

Maybe we should be inviting friends into places of pain. Surely this would cause more pain but maybe also bring much more healing.

Do you have any friends that are willing to go to the deep places within you in the same way that a surgeon would go in and remove something deadly?

Or, are you surrounded by friends who spend all their time making sure that everything is falsely peaceful and agree with you on every issue that come up? Or, just as bad, you have made it known that specific issues that bring you pain are not supposed to be brought up?

Possibly this type of wound from a friend, as directed by the Master Surgeon, is what the writer of Proverbs means.

After this phrase it continues with "BUT the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" which we can see the perfect picture of this when Judas kisses Jesus in the Garden. The kiss could have looked like one of affection yet it was one of betrayal. Had you witnessed the kiss and then walked away you may have assumed that Judas loved Jesus; and you would not have seen Jesus arrested and you may not have known that it led to His death.

Which kiss would you choose? The kiss of Judas that looks and feels right yet leads to betrayal or the kiss of a friend after they have done surgery on you? Or the kiss of forgiveness after you have wounded them? Or the kiss on your hand where life has burned you?